Ricardo Pires, UNICEF’s Emergency Communications Chief, said that since the start of the Israeli assault in October 2023, settlers and Israeli occupation forces have killed 47 Palestinian children across the West Bank and East Al-Quds.

Pires said in remarks published by the organization that despite the horrors unfolding in Gaza after two years of war and the fragile truce repeatedly violated over the past two weeks, including the killing of children in recent hours, the West Bank must not be allowed to fade into the background.

“Despite the horrors taking place in Gaza after two years of war and the fragile truce that has been violated over the past two weeks, including the killing of children in recent hours, the West Bank must not be allowed to become mere background noise,” the UNICEF chief added.

The UN official added that the situation in the West Bank is extremely dangerous, noting that children have been dying since the war began and that 47 have been killed so far, including in al-Quds, stressing that this must come to an immediate end while urging respect for international law and the protection of children, civilians, and the infrastructure they depend on.

'Israel' kills three teenagers within 2 days

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Two 16-year-old Palestinians were shot and killed late on November 7 by Israeli occupation forces in the town of al-Judeira, northwest of occupied al-Quds, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Ministry identified the victims as Mohammad Abdullah Teim and Mohammad Rashad Fadel Qasem, both from al-Judeira, stating that the two children were fatally shot when Israeli occupation forces “opened heavy live fire” on them, after which their bodies were withheld.

The General Authority for Civil Affairs in the West Bank announced on November 6 that 15-year-old Palestinian boy Murad Fawzi Abu Saifin was martyred after being shot by Israeli forces in the town of al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, amid a renewed wave of Israeli raids and settler incursions sweeping across the occupied territory.

Meanwhile, the West Bank has witnessed an unprecedented surge in violence since the start of the assault on Gaza, as Israeli occupation forces and settlers have carried out large-scale operations that have left at least 1,057 Palestinians killed, around 10,000 injured, and more than 20,000 arrested, including 1,600 children, according to estimates by Palestinian human rights organizations.

'Israel' violates the West Bank

In recent months, the occupation forces of Israel have stepped up raids and detentions across the West Bank. The forces have carried out large-scale operations in cities such as Nablus and Jenin, involving pre-dawn home invasions, live ammunition usage, and arrests of civilian residents.

Simultaneously, settlers backed by occupation forces have increasingly targeted Palestinian farmers and agricultural land during the olive-harvest season. The West Bank has seen the highest level of settler assaults in over a decade, with attacks destroying thousands of olive trees and seedlings across dozens of towns.

On the economic front, the Palestinian economy in the West Bank is being driven toward collapse by Israeli restrictions. Before October 2023, around 115,000 Palestinians held permits to work in "Israel", but only a small fraction have since been reinstated. Unemployment has soared above 30% and poverty has doubled, as a result of what are described as deliberate policies by the Israeli government.

Politically and territorially, the Israeli government has signaled plans to "annex" large parts of the West Bank and dismantle the Palestinian Authority. Israeli officials have publicly declared intentions to apply sovereignty over more than 80% of the territory, rejecting any possibility of a Palestinian state and pushing forward with de facto annexation.